The Chase Appreciation Post

Today is a very special day, today's the day we celebrate: The Chase.

On this day 16 years ago I got my baby sister Chase. That's right today is Chase's golden birthday and she asked that I let everyone know it. So, here we are. You have heard stories of her on this websites homepage as well as tidbits throughout some articles, more likely than not on social media as well. But today, it's all about her!

Having a sibling 10 years younger than you can be a unique experience. But I know others whose age dynamic mirror's mine and Chase's and they have no relationship with their sibling at all. I feel like most often times, when you see this age gap, that is a common occurrence. My mother and her brother were the same. 10 years apart, no relationship. I'm not saying that always happens but I find that, that response is a bit more common. Thankfully, our relationship fell to a different option.

Chase is one of my best friends. I love her dearly, and find that we have blended into a rather unique dynamic: sisters, friends, and also possibly mentor/mentee [for lack of better terms]. Though our family can be complicated at times, I find so much joy in the relationship James and I have cultivated with Chase leading us to now. And Chase? Wow. She has grown into a force to be reckoned with. That's one of the unique aspects of our age difference. Most siblings grow up together, when you're 10 years older however, you get to watch them grow. And watching Chase grow has been, breathtaking. Not in a necessarily peaceful sense though, more like, I got the breath knocked out of me.

How can I describe her to you? Chase is like the mess after a tornado. That doesn't sound endearing but hear me out. The storm itself most people don't see because they are taking shelter, and those who do see it, see it fleetingly. But the wreckage after the storm is what everyone sees. You must stare at it, you must be in awh at the chaos left. Chase is like that, brutally honest, nothing to hide, bold, and even though she can sometimes be that typical mess of a teenage, you can't look away. Dramatic, I know, but that's who she is: dramatic.

Even so, she has made me laugh more times than I would ever like to admit. Especially because she genuinely believes she is one of the funniest people on this planet and I am not about to feed that ego. The part of her ego I will gorge though is her creativity. She never fails to amaze with her creative mind and spirit. My mother's side of the family was always very immersed in crafting. All different kinds of crafts. My great grandmother, grandmother, and aunts always took my cousins and I and exposed us to as many types of crafts as they could. They would have us work on many different little projects to see where our talents and passions lied. Unfortunately, Chase being much younger than the rest of us wasn't exposed to as much as we were since my great grandmother grew older. But it has always been clear that it was in her blood. She dabbled in different needle works, like sewing and crochet, but ultimately she fell in love with drawing and painting.

But being the force of nature she is, she has never completely stuck to a canvas. Sure she paints on canvas' as well but I can't tell you all the times she has decided to go "off script". "Are you done with this?" right before she snatches a glass soda bottle that I had barely finished and whisks it away for painting. "Would you buy me this?" as she holds up a wooden toilet seat as we pass through the hardware section of Walmart. Yes, she painted a toilet seat. In fact, she painted a toilet in a meadow on her toilet seat. Why? Ultimately, I think she is trying to get our mother to let her hang it on her wall. The point is, I envy and also want to honor, her creativity. I love that she uses unique mediums. I love that she likes to learn how to use different methods or supplies. I absolutely adore that she doesn't contain or limit herself with her art. I'm proud that she doesn't make herself or her work smaller, or even bigger for that matter, just for the sake of others. She paints for herself and for herself alone. Unless of course it is to make a loved one a gift and then I simply cherish that.

Yes, Chase is wild. But she is also wildly creative and funny and honest. She simply seeks to be herself and nothing else. I lucked out honestly. Though, in personality we couldn't be more different, we share many of the same interests. We are both complete otaku's, nerds and weeaboos till the end. We also both have the same taste in music and in books. We match up very well in all of our similarities and compliment each other in our differences. Yes, I am truly blessed. I have got to watch and aid in the growth of an incredible young woman who I know, without a shadow of a doubt, will do incredible things.

Happy birthday baby girl, your big sister will love you and support you till the end of time. I hope your birthday is golden and as bright as you. I pray for you constantly but also pray that this next year and every year after that just brings more for you. Because I know God has more for you. Continue to grow and continue to become more of you.

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Thank you for joining me today in honoring Ms. Chase Julia. Give your siblings a hug next time you see them, siblings are a wonderful thing. I hope you have an amazing Monday and rest of your week. On Wednesday we will be reviewing the results from tonight's 2020 Anime Awards, I am stoked and hope to see you there. And remember, you might not be as messy as tornado-Chase but still, stay messy friends.